GORDON Brown has claimed there could be “50 years of conflict between Scotland and England” if squabbles over the constitution are not resolved.

The former prime minister has called on Scottish Labour to restore its reputation with the public and take support back from the SNP.

Mr Brown was pressed over the poor fortunes of Scottish Labour, now under the leadership of Anas Sarwar, during an appearance on Sky News’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday show.

He said: “We’ve got to show that we’re both the party of social justice and that the Scottish National Party are not delivering that despite all their promises, and we are the party of solidarity.

“In this interdependent world, there is no future in nations that are neighbouring nations fighting each other and I fear 50 years of conflict between Scotland and England if we don’t get these problems sorted out.”

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He added: “We’ve got to be the party of solidarity, talking about empathy, reciprocity, co-operation and sharing.

“Of course, we’ve found during the vaccination effort that when we co-operate we get things done.”

Mr Brown was also asked about the row over the Northern Ireland Protocol and the danger of the stand-off to the union.

He said: “I think Boris Johnson has got to understand this is a union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

“Each part of that union has got its own cultural traditions, its own sensitivities, its own needs and its own aspirations and you’ve got to work at this.

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“The job of a prime minister..is to unite the whole country, to bring people together.”

Mr Brown added: “I believe there should be a forum that brings together the nations and the regions in a more systematic way so that common problems are discussed, chaired by the prime minister.

“But you can’t assume the United Kingdom is going to hold together if you don’t work at it and that demands efforts, cooperation, policies for cooperation, instruments for cooperation and of course a determination that cooperation is going to work.”